FS7: Still camera for occasional use with FS7 II

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Vintegreo

Well-known member
I'm sure I'm not the only one this applies to, but in addition to loving using my FS7 II professional, I'm also a still photography lover. I own an old Hasselblad, a bunch of 35mm stuff and a digital Nikon camera. Mine happens to be a D90.

Periodically now that I own such an awesome video camera, I feel like I'd like to upgrade my DSLR for my love of still photography. It seems like it would be an added bonus if it could occasionally be used as a B camera for interviews or perhaps if I wanted to do a great night time-lapse for use in a video, it would be good for that.

With all of this in mind, does that point me to a Sony DSLR in order to get the color to play well my FS7? I've heard that it's easier to get cameras to match if they're at least made by the same manufacturer, because then the color science is approached in the same way.

Thoughts appreciated!!
 
I use a Sony A7rII alongside my FS7 for multi-cam (did that today actually) and various mounting situations where the FS7 is too large, heavy or it’s too risky. I set them both to S-Log2 and they intercut very well. Hope that helps.
 
A7s2 seems like the clear option. Great b cam for an extra angle or backup camera or for painless gimbal, timelapse, rigged camera work. I'd be careful about the a7r2 it's a great camera too as long as you only use the 4k recording options and understand the limitations of the 4k FF and 4k S35 modes. A7s2 looks great in all modes but a7r2 has line skipped aliasey noisy 1080p that won't match am fs7 well.
 
I also have an A7RII for stills and it's a great camera for that so I can recommend it. Haven't shot much video with it as I use A7SII for that thou.

I'm loving face tracking an eye tracking when taking stills as it's much faster and reliable to work with than my previous Canon 5DIII.
 
If you are looking for a stills camera mainly I would not go for the A7s series. 12MP is a very low resolution for still - same as your almost 10yrs old Nikon. In terms of still photos with any of the current DSLRs you will be able to create great images. If you want to use it beside the FS7 a B-Cam I would suggest to stay in the Sony eco system and consider the a7rII or maybe the a6500 also. If your main focus is on stills your pick depends on budget, handling etc. You can match every RAW stills image to the FS7 footage.
 
As you already have a D90, I assume you have a collection of lenses for it already as well?

Consider the Nikon D7500 (basically the latest version of the D90 series). Or the D500 (the latest of D300 series, if we're keeping to D90 vintage comparisons).

Or the Nikon D750, probably the best FF DSLR in its price bracket for both video or stills. (or next step up, get the latest D850)
 
IronFilm said:
As you already have a D90, I assume you have a collection of lenses for it already as well?

Consider the Nikon D7500 (basically the latest version of the D90 series). Or the D500 (the latest of D300 series, if we're keeping to D90 vintage comparisons).

Or the Nikon D750, probably the best FF DSLR in its price bracket for both video or stills. (or next step up, get the latest D850)
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That depends on the lenses he already owns. The D90 is a APS-C camera. If he doesn't own full frame lenses he can start from the scratch.
 
+1 To Noah

A7sII.

But you might wait until after NYC Photoplus to see if by any chance Sony just might introduce new still cameras.
 
So far it sounds like sticking with Sony is where it's at. Surprisingly, I really haven't invested in additional lenses for my Nikon. I thought I would, but in the end it was easier to justify spending money on video gear, as that's what allows my family and I to eat. If the camera can shoot good "b cam" video than I can justify it on the video side and be happy on the still side.
 
Vintegreo said:
So far it sounds like sticking with Sony is where it's at. Surprisingly, I really haven't invested in additional lenses for my Nikon. I thought I would, but in the end it was easier to justify spending money on video gear, as that's what allows my family and I to eat. If the camera can shoot good "b cam" video than I can justify it on the video side and be happy on the still side.
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Staying with one of the A7 series cameras will help you with matching when using for video.
If you're mainly thinking about using it for stills go with the A7R2. If you are considering it primarily a B video camera then the A7s2 might make sense -- but the significantly lower pixel count will reduce your stills sharpness and limit your ability to blow up really big or do extreme cropping on the stills.
Of course the A7s2 will give you a low-light capability for video that the other cameras don't have -- so that can be a big plus if your shoots get you 'stuck' in situations where you need to do video in extreme low light situations.
 
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Couldn't say anything about it yesterday but now it's official.

The A7rIII will be a perfect companion to the FS7.

nsoltz said:
+1 To Noah

A7sII.

But you might wait until after NYC Photoplus to see if by any chance Sony just might introduce new still cameras.
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Clermond said:
That depends on the lenses he already owns. The D90 is a APS-C camera. If he doesn't own full frame lenses he can start from the scratch.
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If he only has APS-C lenses (and something like Tokina 11-20mm f2.8 + Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 + Sigma 50-100mm f1.8 are all APS-C lenses, but would be a GREAT kit to own!) then he still has D500 or D7500 as an option of a fantastic stills camera to buy which also is a 4K DSLR.
 
Vintegreo said:
So far it sounds like sticking with Sony is where it's at. Surprisingly, I really haven't invested in additional lenses for my Nikon. I thought I would, but in the end it was easier to justify spending money on video gear, as that's what allows my family and I to eat. If the camera can shoot good "b cam" video than I can justify it on the video side and be happy on the still side.
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Remember you can use all your Nikon F mount lenses on your video cameras too, heck I almost only use Nikon F mount lenses when filming!

Sttratos said:
But he wants a video camera first. This doesn't seem to be a real upgrade from the A7RII on the video side. Improvements look to be for stills only. So if for video mainly A7SII is still better(?).
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Panasonic GH5 still reigns as king supreme of the hybrid cameras for filmmaking with.

Best news about the a7R mk3? Price drops on secondhand a7R mk2 cameras!
 
To say a bit more about this....

I'd love to have a camera that's primarily rockin' awesome for still photography and as an added bonus I can easily and happily use it as a B camera on a video shoot where my FS7 II is the A cam.

To further clarify...my favorite still camera is my Hasseblad 500C, but I cry whenever I pay to get film processed. The Nikon D90 is just barely fit to take a picture of the Hasselblad!

So...that's what I'm after. Sadly, budget and being relatively pragmatic will probably prevent this purchase, but who knows! I have a client who's asking for more 2 cam shoots, so perhaps that'll kick the budget in the right direction.
 
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